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felassan · 3 months ago

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard | High-Level Combat Parts 1-4 writeup

This post also contains transcriptions of the text that was in the video.

This was a four-part video series which has also been edited into a single standalone video for convenience. The video features an elven Warrior Rook from the Grey Warden background and who has taken the Champion spec.

Story/plot, flavor stuff, and other cool stuff

The footage in the new gameplay video was edited to avoid major spoilers, but there is still new story information in there.

Weisshaupt Fortress, the headquarters of the Grey Warden order located in the Anderfels, is under attack and under siege from the Blighted elven god Ghilan'nain, her Archdemon, and darkspawn. The darkspawn are following Ghilan'nain's orders. Rook and the Veilguard must stop her. They set off to find their allies in Weisshaupt and soon meet resistance from the darkspawn. Lots of sacs of Blight corruption are growing on the buildings that make up the fortress. Blight sacs (or something that looks like them. the lil parachute things) fall on the fortress too like missiles. Ghil's face watches the siege from the stormy sky.

This quest is called "The Siege of Weisshaupt". The fact that Weisshaupt would come under attack from the weird darkspawn and a dragon in DA:TV actually first emerged as a detail during a leak a few years ago. Stages and objectives in this questline include "Get to the War Room (Move along the wall)", "Find the dragon trap (Move along the wall)", "Find the dragon trap (Defeat the darkspawn)" and "Get to the Library (Defeat the darkspawn)". I'd guess that said dragon trap in this instance is for Ghil's Archdemon, though it makes sense why the Wardens would even have such a thing as a dragon trap seeing as the Archdemons, when they rise, are in dragon form. Could it be anything like the setup that had confined Ataashi in Trespasser? Also, lore says that Weisshaupt is home to an extensive library.

As this is high-level combat gameplay, the implication could potentially be that this storybeat occurs during the mid-to-late game?

It seems that at times certain companions are required to be taken along on certain quests (iirc this was previously reported in an article somewhere too). For example, Davrin is required during The Siege of Weisshaupt, as it is a Grey Warden quest and he is the Grey Warden companion.

I think Warden Rook's surname is Thorne (Grey Warden symbol in the image). The Rook in the video has the first name "Esha".

Solas' Lyrium dagger isn't only a story thing/magic maguffin artifact that can tear the Veil. When Rook gets it, it appears to have a function/use in gameplay as well. Rook can attach 3 runes to it in different slots. These runes have various functions and effects e.g. Scorch.

The companions are described like this:

Bellara - "Veil Jumper"

Davrin - "Grey Warden"

Emmrich - "Mourn Watcher"

Harding - "Inquisition Agent" (Agent of the remnants?)

Lucanis - "Antivan Crow"

Neve - "Shadow Dragon"

Taash - "Lord of Fortune"

We see additional descriptions for some of them:

Davrin - "Sword-and-board monster hunter commands a griffon"

Lucanis - "Swift and precise assassin with a demonic aura"

Emmrich - "Nevarran professor of death summons spirits"

Harding - "Potion-slinging scout's arrows shock and shred"

(I love these lil descriptions btw, the way they're written is like poetry)

Along with his demonic aura, Lucanis (called "The Demon" per TN) has an ability called Abominate. Implications.. intriguing :D

Lucanis' abilities tend towards crowd control. Davrin can call Assan to attack in battle. He flies down like a meteor or comet and it's so cool. :)

The video includes a bit of flavor text for Grey Wardens from an ability description and a specialization description:

Ultimate Ability [of Grey Warden Rook, presumably] – Warden’s Fire Unleash a barrage of strikes with the burning strength that resides within every Grey Warden. [this does fire damage] Specialization – Champion The pinnacle of Grey Warden combat prowess. The Champion is a born leader who rallies their allies, turns their fervor into flame, and wields a shield as a deadly weapon.

(^ The fire damage and fire motif contained in the above makes sense as darkspawn are vulnerable to elemental fire damage. also, I think when Rook uses Warden's Fire, they blow a horn 'Gondor calls for aid' style, which is super cool.)

The video includes new lore in the form of item descriptions for various gear pieces. Each item appears to be associated with one of the factions, as it has that faction's sigil on its info box.

These guys are darkspawn ghouls. One type is called a Greater Ghoul. (Does that imply the existence of "Lesser Ghouls" or just "Ghouls"?) These are melee mobs. Another darkspawn enemy type is Greater Hurlock Spiker. Those are ranged mobs that throw the spikes from their backs. There are also regular Greater Hurlocks (I think those are these guys) and Greater Hurlock Blighters. The Blighters seem to have sacs of red Blight corruption on their backs, and you can see them throwing globs of this around, thereby spreading the Blight like their name suggests. it seems like these globs explode after impact like grenades or bombs. of course, all darkspawn spread Blight, but that's like an evolution of spreading.

The video features new music.

Enemies can be Sparta-kicked off ledges. Throw your shield like Captain America! (or at least its energy-shadow thing) This Rook has an ability called Titan Stomp.

Lucanis sometimes leaps around in a dramatic burst of crow feathers, kinda flying (it feels like) down from above like a bird of prey.

Thoughts, speculation

Gameplay looks super cool and fun oh shit!

If the plotbeats described above (Ghil, Archdemon, Weisshaupt siege etc) aren't considered by BioWare to be "major spoilers", it makes me wonder about the plotbeats and twists they aren't revealing that would be. yknow?

If Ghilan'nain has an Archdemon, might Elgar'nan also? We've seen different concept art pieces and scenes with two dragons in them, and we have long speculated about a 'Double Blight' of some kind. Two Elven Gods have risen; handily, prior to DA:TV beginning, two Old Gods/Archdemons remained (Razikale and Lusacan). In DA:TV teaser murals and art pieces, the concentric circles motif still had the two 'lit' hemispheres around the outside. If they both have one, which Old God is paired with which Evanuris? BUT. Saying that. alternate theory. how do we even know that her Archdemon is a real Archdemon? Corypheus in DA:I used red lyrium to transform a High dragon into an imitation of an archdemon, his red lyrium dragon. Thedosians initially presumed that this was a real Archdemon. if Cory can do it, why not Ghil and Elgar'nan? Ghil at least has clearly been messing with red lyrium given the red lyrium darkspawn.

I hope we get to visit Weisshaupt at some point before the siege takes place, I'd like to see it as it was and explore it a bit before that happens. 🥺 Weisshaupt in the game looks so like previous concept arts we saw of it (one, two), it's so cool to see all the art pieces come to game-life as assets in-game. also I love all the lil griffon assets around Weisshaupt, like the sleepy statue. and could this scene be the Weisshaupt War Room?

On Ghil's face in the storm: on DA Day 2023 BioWare said:

"To the far west, three Grey Wardens patrol the Anderfels. Tremors have been causing disturbances of late. Their cause is unknown. Upon the distant horizon, a storm of ominous intent brews and darkens the skies."

they were being literal ig about the storm of ominous intent darkening the skies! and then I guess the storm in this concept art of Weisshaupt is the Ghilstorm.

Why would Ghil attack Weisshaupt with darkspawn? I'm sure there's more to it underneath the surface, but from what we know so far, the elven gods are "corrupt"/"Blighted" and are "hellbent on Blighting the world". and if you want to spread a Blight, it makes sense that you would target.. the HQ of the world's main and only defense against the Blight. it's also not a surprise that she is doing so (I don't mean this in a disparaging way. I just mean 'stories put out clues and foreshadowing for the next plotbeats, and if you were following the clues as intended' etc) - we knew that the Anderfels had been experiencing unknown tremors lately and that a storm of ominous intent was brewing there. also, the new darkspawn are mutated and in TN the Wardens discovered in Hormak that Ghil had/has twelve (now eleven) secret underground monster pools in the Deep Roads that mutate darkspawn. lyrium was also involved in that instance, albeit yellow-green.

Ghil's attack on Weisshaupt also explains why in the Thedas Calls teaser trailer, it sounded like Weisshaupt was under attack and under imminent threat. (Ctrl+F "Weisshaupt" in this post for more on that). For example, the line "Grey Wardens don’t hide in our castle. I won’t ask good soldiers to turn tail and run." - this sounds like a dialogue line spoken by a senior Warden specifically during the Seige of Weisshaupt.

It also explains why in this Thedas Calls shot of Weisshaupt, Weisshaupt looks afflicted by red lyrium, there's a dark ominous storm vibe, and things look ruined/threatened. and it explains screenshots and scenes like this and why in the character reveal trailer Davrin was fighting red lyrium darkspawn in a Blighted dark area with griffon assets. (read the "Davrin" section here for more)

"They set off to find their allies in Weisshaupt and soon meet resistance from the darkspawn" - could this be Evka and Antoine? :)

I don't think we see any or many Wardens around in the sections of this quest that we see in this video. I definitely saw at least one dead one. what has befallen them? I hope some of them are surviving somewhere inside the fortress ;-; and where is the First Warden in all this? also, this must be awful for Davrin to see :< A Grey Warden witnessing the attack of your order's heart.

Fighting a darkspawn siege on the walls and roof of a famous fortress is giving me Battle of Denerim, Fort Drakon-DA:O-style vibes and memories. it's perfect :)

With Lucanis' demonic aura and Abominate ability, it's probably time to revisit the idea that there's something inchresting/spirit-demonny going on there. I'm curious to see the take on it this time around and how it differs to e.g. Wynne, Anders.

I love the way hair and capes flip around and move in battle!

^ Ghil's Archdemon, or "Archdemon"? At this point it also looks like.. sacs of Blighted corruption (or something) are falling from the sky down onto Weisshaupt/being launched at Weisshaupt by the darkspawn/Ghil as part of the seige!! jesus!!

Some random other posts of things like stuff I noticed: Davrin and Lucanis height comparison (who knows if it's to scale on that screen though), Summon Baby Button, Davrin and Lucanis icons, Lucanis' smirk, Davrin picture compilation, Emmrich and Harding on the party screen, darkspawn advance, useable trebuchet/dead Warden/giant ominous tube, aeries?/griffon lamp/+2 Heartwood

Item description lore

Each item appears to be associated with a faction, as it has that faction's sigil on its info box. For example, the Golden Casque helm is a Lord of Fortune item.

GEAR WIELDED BY ROOK "Golden Casque – rare heavy helm – [Lords of Fortune] Tall and plumed, this fine helmet is the color of gold – but much harder to dent. The Iron Cast – rare heavy armor – [Mourn Watch] This armor’s vividly sculpted musculature is a testament to Nevarra’s unrivalled knowledge of anatomy. Necropolis Defender – rare targe [a targe is a type of shield historically used by Scottish Highlanders] – [Mourn Watch] The elite guards who stand watch at the gates of the Grand Necropolis use these shields to guard against both the living and the dead. Spellbound Longsword – rare longsword – [Shadow Dragons] This enchanted longsword is bound with burning magic. Andraste’s Will – unique ring – [Shadow Dragons] Andraste was tied to a stake and burned while her earthly husband turned his armies aside and did nothing, for his heart had been devoured. Amaranthine Loop – uncommon ring – [Antivan Crows] Favored by Crows, the uniform rows of stones add balance and precision to every blow. Also some elegance. Heart of Andraste – uncommon amulet – [Lords of Fortune] A charm given to newly anointed Fathers of the Imperial Chantry, the cracked stone serves as a reminder of Andraste’s mortal heart." Rook was also wielding a big hammer and wearing a belt, the icon did not pass over their infoboxes during the video. GEAR WIELDED BY DAVRIN "Blight Killer – rare longsword – [Grey Wardens] An intimidating, one-of-a-kind sword cut from solid obsidian. It is perfectly balanced. Reforged Bulwark – uncommon heater (shield) – [Grey Wardens] Reclaimed from the ruins of an old Warden stronghold, this shield honors the sacrifices of Wardens past while defending their future." Davrin was also wielding his iconic/default armor and what looked like a dagger or shortsword. The icon did not pass over their infoboxes during the video.

Part 1

Text notes in this part:

"Combat Part 1: Prepare For Battle This is an introduction to high-level combat. Footage has been edited for brevity and to avoid major spoilers. Weisshaupt Fortress is under attack from Ghilan’nain and her Archdemon. Rook and the Veilguard must stop her. Let’s get your warrior ready for battle. Abilities & Runes - Assign abilities and an ultimate attack before jumping into battle. - Equip runes to enhance your power set and access unique abilities when activated. - Choose runes that boost a Warrior’s damage and help with crowd control. Skill Tree - Each combat class has an array of specializations to choose from. - Your Rook has chosen the Champion branch, which favors strong defensive skills. - Utilizing passive abilities like Heavy Armor Mastery will help boost defense if you are equipped with all heavy armor. - You’re going to be battling darkspawn, who are vulnerable to fire. Fiery Resolve will grant us “Flaming Weapons” for a duration when we parry an enemy attack. - We’ll be doing a deep dive on progression systems in the future. Inventory - For this build, you’ll want a full set of heavy armor to activate our Heavy Armor Mastery passive. - Rook is primarily using a Sword & Shield since it allows you to be more defensive. - If you prefer a more aggressive playstyle, two-handed weapons deal more damage, but have fewer defensive options. - The Spellbound Longsword deals high Stagger and can trigger powerful takedowns. - We’ll cover Stagger in Part of this series. - Rook has a fire-based, darkspawn-killer build. - This ring grants a bonus to the max number of burning stacks, which results in more damage over time. - This is just one type of build. Other examples include customizing to emphasize your Shield Toss or Takedowns. - Personalize yours to fit your preferred playstyle. - Selected companions can aid Rook by equipping complementary gear and passives. - This is a Grey Warden mission, so you should bring Davrin into battle with you. [Character selection screen] - In addition to Davrin, you decide to take Lucanis into battle based on his crowd control abilities."

This is what the character screen looks like. There are 'pages' for Map, Character, Companions, Skills and Library. (Library is for the codexes basically).

Gear-wise Rook can equip two different weapons (in this case they have a sword+shield and also a hammer in the 2h slot), helmet, an armor, and what looks like 1 belt/accessory, 1 necklace/accessory and 2 rings. Helmet has a 'hide helmet' toggle. Additionally, the Lyrium dagger has slots for 3 runes. There are also slots at the bottom for 3 abilities and 1 Ultimate Attack (I think). I think the Ultimate ability is based on Rook's background.

There looks like there's 3 different types of things we gather, plus another submenu if you press triangle to see the resources (heartwood etc). The one on the right looks like gold/coin. I wonder what the other two are?

This is what the equivalent pane for Davrin looks like in the Companions menu. Companions have less customizable gear slots than Rook.

This looks like the relationship meter. In this save, Davrin seems to be at relationship level 4 with Rook, a stage which is called "Comrade in Arms".

This is what the 'choose your team'/'gather your party' screen looks like. The companions' cards are these art pieces. At this point in this save, Neve is the only one with the Veilguard sigil above her card. Michael Gamble tweeted that this means "she is a hero of the Veilguard." [source] Maybe this means that her 'loyalty mission', or this game's equivalent thereof, has been completed so that Neve has been able to fully commit to the Veilguard?

Part 2

Text notes in this part:

“Combat Part 2: The Basics Now that Rook, Davrin & Lucanis have the right gear and skills, the team sets off to find their allies. Soon, they are met with resistance by the darkspawn, blighted creatures following Ghilan’nain’s orders. Assess The Battlefield - First, learn the enemy types to strategically exploit their weaknesses. Darkspawn are vulnerable to fire. - You will also see that they are resistant to Necrosis. - Enemies have a multitude of damage vulnerabilities and resistances. - Abilities which exploit weaknesses have a green outline. - Rook encounters a swarm of darkspawn ghouls who favor overwhelming melee. - The ghouls are joined by Hurlock spikers, ranged combatants who are also vulnerable to fire. - Time a Shield Block to parry an incoming attack, which provides an opportunity for a high-damage counterattack. - With this successful parry, the Fiery Resolve passive skill activates Flaming Weapons. Melee attacks will now do fire damage instead of physical. - Use the Kick ability to deal massive damage and knock enemies off ledges. - Shield Throw is an effective ranged attack that can destroy obstacles and quickly close the gap between you and an enemy. - Health pots are available throughout the world. Grab them to prepare for what’s ahead. - Use the Ability Wheel to pause the action, cast abilities, and direct your companions. - Some enemies have tougher additional protection that needs to be removed. A yellow bar indicates Armor Barrier. - Armor is resistant to most attacks. Heavy attacks are the most effective against it. - Here, the darkspawn horde begins to overwhelm. - You can cast Spectral Bulwark, which damages enemies who land melee hits. - This allows you to fearlessly get into the thick of battle. - Enemies have a lavender stagger bar that builds when you land hits. - While an enemy is Staggered, they take bonus damage, and you can deliver a powerful takedown."

Part 3

Text notes in this part:

“Combat Part 3: Buffs, Debuffs, & Crowd Control You’ve mastered your core abilities. Now it’s time to face down a variety of enemies, all at once. Spacing Strategy - This Rook is a Warrior, specializing in the Champion branch, which favors a defensive style of fighting. - Warriors are front-line fighters capable of devastating, up-close attacks. - Rook and their companions can also deploy different tools, such as area-of-effect attacks to uniquely manage various enemies. Buffs & Debuffs - Additionally, activate companion buffs and debuffs to apply status effects. - One example of a buff is Lucanis’ Adrenaline Rush ability which enhances Rook’s damage stats. - Davrin has Heroic Strike, which applies the overwhelmed debuff. This causes the target to take additional Stagger. Crowd Control - This build activates the Shield Volley Passive, which ricochets your shield 3 times if you hit it with a heavy attack. - Rook is getting attacked on all sides, so you command Lucanis to use Abominate to knock enemies down. Fighting At A Distance - Use abilities, like Davrin’s Death From Above, to deal damage from afar. - Or use your Grappling Spear to pull them close.”

Part 4

Text notes in this part:

“Combat Part 4: Primers, Detonators, & Ultimates As your fight progresses, use primers, detonators, and ultimates with strategic timing to turn the tide of battle. Primers & Detonators - Rook can create incredibly damaging combo detonations with the help of their companions. - Assess the situation, and determine which primers and detonators work best against each enemy type. - Command Davrin to Taunt to gather nearby enemies. - Activate the Crystallize rune to freeze the gathered group in place. - Lucanis can use Eviscerate to detonate the combo and strike the whole group. Ultimate Attacks - As the battle progresses, Rook can unleash a destructive ultimate attack. - Now that you’ve mastered these combat strategies and tactics, let’s see them all in action."

Abilities, passives etc

For these I focused mostly on the move’s name + its description. In some cases there's sort of two as there's the one from the Ability Wheel and the one from the Skill Tree.

ROOK Driving Kick – Focus all your strength and determination into one mighty kick. / Deals a very high amount of Stagger. Grappling Spear – Harpoon your targets with a strong throw and drag them in for a closer encounter. / Pulls your target towards you. Press [button] or [button] to perform a follow-up attack Spectral Bulwark – Hone your guard and protect yourself from enemies foolish enough to attack. Enemies who hit you with a melee attack take damage and very high […]. / While active, enemies who hit you with a melee attack take damage and very high Stagger. [Ultimate] Warden’s Fire – Unleash a barrage of strikes with the burning strength that resides within every Grey Warden. Applies Burning to enemies [Specialization] Champion – The pinnacle of Grey Warden combat prowess. The Champion is a born leader who rallies their allies, turns their fervor into flame, and wields a shield as a deadly weapon. [Greater Passive] Heavy Armor Mastery - +Defense while wearing a heavy helm and armor. You are now less likely to be disrupted when getting hit. [Greater Passive] Fiery Resolve – Gain Flaming Weapons on Perfect Defense. Flaming Weapons lasts 50% longer. Titan Stomp – Deals very high Stagger to nearby enemies. LUCANIS Adrenaline Rush – Grants enhanced damage Abominate – Deals high Barrier damage and applies Knocked down to enemies in the area Eviscerate – At half health of less, this deals bonus damage, increasing in effectiveness the closer the target is to death DAVRIN Death From Above – Deals high Stagger [summons Assan to attack] Heroic Strike – Deals high Stagger Battle Cry – Applies Taunted to enemies in the area

There were also names and info popups of different runes, e.g. Mend.

[source]

#dragon age: the veilguard #dragon age the veilguard spoilers #dragon age: dreadwolf #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #dragon age #bioware #video games #long post #longpost #solas #caledonia's been everything #gpoy #dragon age: tevinter nights #edit: skills/passives etc blurbs added :)

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popfizzles · 3 months ago

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hi fizzles! would you ever mind if people took inspiration from your Cuphead designs/hcs at all?/gq im super inspired by you in general but I don't want to overstep since my designs may be similar lol!

This question is always hard for me. <:)

I've dealt with lots of copycats and art theives/tracers in the past so it always makes my skin bristle and I get inwardly defensive when someone says they want to use my designs as inspiration.

It's especially scary given what has happened to other Cuphead AUs in the fandom (the amount of "Casino Cups + OC" blogs that exist are terrifying as someone who is trying to make an AU story blog!!!!)

I'm trying to get better at being more accepting and relaxed when it comes to inspiring other people. Especially since it's really flattering, when you get down to it! That people like my designs and art so much they want their versions to be similar or reflect mine in some way.

I think that taking inspiration is okay. Even following a bit of the same storybeats/personality traits is okay.

After all, there are only so many ways we can all design the same red apple character, right? But it would become a bit of a problem and make people tilt their heads if you give him a yellow apple younger sister, and a green apple older brother. <:)

Does that make sense?

#fizzles answers #anon #anonymous

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roughlytwentytwofrogs · 3 months ago

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This was an answer to another post, but I feel like I started babbling too much to not make it its own post.

Shipping aside, I feel like the origin companions are paired up by the story.

The most obvious are Karlach and Wyll, which you could chalk up to the fact that Karlach was going to be an NPC related to his quest in the beginning. But I feel like it's not just that, because it extends from act 1 allllll the way into the end of the game. In Wyll's recruitment dialogue, he talks about Karlach; and whether you've recruited Wyll or not, or you've brought him with you or not, Karlach's recruitment triggers Wyll's first cutscene and his first storybeat (while when learning Astarion is a vampire, despite being a monster hunter, his reaction is pretty much just "welp rip i guess").

Karlach has (!) reactions to many steps of Wyll's quest, they talk about each other all the time through their own hurdles. And of course, their antagonists are closely related (Mizora and Zariel), and they have ties to the same main villain (Gortash, who is Karlach's revenge plot and the one to hold Wyll's dad in a cell). Wyll follows Karlach into her good ending to free her from her own devil. It's pretty obvious that those two are connected from the beginning of the game to the end.

Then you have Shadowheart and Lae'zel, who are on each side of a conflict: Shadowheart stole the artifact from Vlaakith, Lae'zel is a very zealous githyanki. They keep talking about each other throughout act 1; because Lae is a danger to Shads, she keeps trying to undermine her to the PC (she even tells you what she does when talking about Raphael, by shittalking and sowing doubt, the moment Lae'zel slips, we've basically already made our minds).

Then they both go through the same storybeat, ie free themselves from their own evil deities, or fall further into their cults and ascend. There's even an (inaccessible right now) interaction between good path origin Lae and Shads, when Shads has that bit of dialogue about dyeing her hair white: she tells Lae that watching her free herself of Vlaakith inspired her to make her own decisions; Shads also has a similar one with resist path Durge.

And last, you have Gale and Astarion, who are foils in their own way, whose stories are about indulging in the power dangled in front of their noses or refuse it, and their backstories both have sexual trauma implications (I say implications, because while Astarion's are very obvious and maintext, Gale's aren't as much, afaik, but I also haven't done his romance path so feel free to correct me). They don't intervene in each other's paths, so they're the two i'm least sure about because you have to dig a little more, but still worth noting imo.

They also have these interactions with the book of Thay, which isn't a main quest but worth mentioning, because they're the only ones who do have a tie to that quest (despite not being wisdom classes).

Now whether it wants us to see it in a shipping light, I don't know! My answer would be probably not, because the game makes the companions very playersexual rather than develop their relationship with each other. You can probably also find ways to pair them otherwise, but to me there's no denying the story is written in a way that pairs the companions up to contrast their stories with each others.

Feel free to add yalls own thoughts on this!

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #rant #wyll ravengard #karlach #shadowheart #lae'zel #gale dekarios #astarion

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cru5h-cascades · 6 months ago

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Givin' y'all a feast of content tonight lol

Here's my design for the Lamb in my Blue Crown AU (still thinking of a name for them. I think I might either go with Lake or River.)

Might as well explain the AU while I'm at it. After all, I did say I'd wait until I posted art for the AU to talk about it.

Okay, so this has been in the works for a while and I've been putting this off because I was working on Your Side of Order, but this is the jist of the Blue Crown AU.

Basically in this AU, the Lamb grew up in Anchordeep. Their parents died when they were young, so Kallamar, who refused to believe that sacrificing an entire species was the key to sealing away Nardiner and feared the consquences of him and his siblings actions if they went through with the genocide, took the Lamb in and raised them as their own in secret. When the lamb genocides began, Kallamar helped the Lamb hide from the other bishops, however eventually the Lamb was found & prepared for execution. Just before the Lamb was decapitated, Kallamar saved them last minute and rushed them out of the sacrificial area, giving them his crown in order to teach them how to fight (and to better protect them) (in this AU, the crown allows the Lamb to swap weapons at will instead of getting one at random and the Lamb can use multiple curses) (the Lamb can swap between 3 of each). After escaping the temple, Kallamar leads the Lamb to a secret area in Anchordeep where the Lamb can create a cult to help them become stronger and gives the Lamb a mission: kill the other bishops before they can kill both the Lamb & Kallamar and then kill Nardiner.

Same storybeats as the OG story: Lamb goes into biome, beats up some mini bosses, and eventually beats up the bishops. But in this AU, the Lamb fights Nardiner a bit earlier on (after killing Leshy, Heket, and Shamura), who also sort of has their own biome thing (all the enemies are skeletal and the mini bosses are Baal, Aym, and a shadow clone of the Lamb). The fight against Nardiner is a bit tamer compared to the OG fight since Nardiner hardly knows the Lamb, but it doesn't matter 'cause ultimately the Lamb kills Nardiner.

After returning to cult grounds, Kallamar is waiting for the Lamb and is overjoyed that the mission has been completed... for a few seconds. After realizing what he just made the Lamb do (killing all their siblings and decimating their lands), Kallamar becomes overwhelmed with guilt and begs the Lamb to do one more thing for him: put him out of his misery & let him be with his siblings. The Lamb refuses, resulting in Kallamar trying to hurt himself, but after the Lamb tries to stop him, a fight against Kallamar happens. Basically the fight's almost the same as the OG game's ('cause Kallamar is so fucking hard to beat), except Kallamar has an extra phase like Nardiner's OG fight. Anyways, the Lamb beats Kallamar & Kallamar gets absolved of all his sins. He's a bit shorter now but not as small as a follower (maybe two followers tall?), and doesn't want to fight the Lamb anymore. After seeing how strong the Lamb is, Kallamar gives the Lamb a choice: follow orders and kill Kallamar, or let him live as an act of mercy. The Lamb chooses mercy, not wanting to kill the one who let them live, and Kallamar becomes the right hand squid of the Lamb.

#cult of the lamb #cotl #cotl lamb #blue crown au

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7grandmel · 9 months ago

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Todays rip: 13/02/2024

NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2)

Season 4 Episode 1 Featured on: FINAL BOUT ~ SiIvaGunner: King for Another Day Tournament Original Soundtrack VOL. 3

Ripped by Princess Sylvysprit Visuals by 813N

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I covered KFAD just two posts ago with Unhealed, and a big point I wanted to drive home in that post was just how much effort each and every ripper and contributor put into the event, in a way that still feels unbelievably impressive to this day. It's no secret that the King for Another Day Tournament absolutely ballooned in scope from its initial proposal, with tons of things added and changed last-minute to keep raising the bar even higher. And that scope is, again, the main reason why I cover the event so prominently when discussing Season 4 Episode 1, as its unprecedented scale and quality throughout eclipsed anything the channel had done up until that point (and, arguably, since!). Yet for as troubled as production reportedly was, as unchecked as that ambition might have been, its incredible to think that...most all of it still managed to stick the landing? And there's no better example of this in action, I find, than NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2).

I think it came as a surprise to most of us, especially those who had followed the original King for a Day tournament just a year earlier, that the second contest slowly began to grow itself a sort of storyline. It wasn't much, and it wasn't in the forefront - but ones who remembered to check the King for Another Day MOJO website would get to see in universe "interviews" with the event's contestants, small little side stories in their time between matches, and full-on emotional beats of character development. As I mentioned way back in mines.ogg (unused) (and of course in Unhealed), a contestant like MissingNo wound up actually becoming a fleshed-out, fully-rounded character, more than just a vague concept attached to a source list. I truly salute the team who worked on the MOJO writing, being able to effectively improvise such an effective narrative and writing wholly unique dynamics and developments based on the per-match outcomes of the tournament. All of this all-around development, this investment into the entire cast of the event, and the excitement for the final match, made the surprise reveal to come so much more exciting - the reveal that the King for Another Day Tournament had a final boss to defeat.

Winner of the prior year's King for a Day Tournament and the in-universe host of the entire second tournament, Unregistered Hypercam 2 fell victim to possession by the mysterious "crown", set to be awarded to the Tournament's winner. Controlled by a still-unexplained sentient life found within the crown's ruby, the final match between DJ Professor K and Mariya Takeuchi wound up suspended - as this new monstrous force threatened to keep the Tournament running forever, eternally suspended with no resolution, yet another timeloop right alongside the one the Christmas Comeback Crisis already presents in the channel's main story. The Tournament calls for the help of both finalists, every other contestant - and the power of us, the viewers, to use the "MF LIKE BUTTON" from all the way back in Season 1's lore - to fight against and destroy the concept of eternal safety, the concept of maintaining stagnation for the sake of not losing those temporary moments of joy.

...look, I could over-analyze and dissect this finale as much as I want, about how pitch-perfectly each storybeat fell into place to truly connect the King for Another Day Tournament to the theming and narrative that the prior three Seasons had been so rigorously following, but...we're here to cover the theme of the battle itself. But I felt that all this context did need to be conveyed in some way - becuase NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2) reflects the tone and energy of the entire event so pitch-perfectly, it amazed me to learn just how last-minute its production truly was. Princess Sylvysprit employs her expertise and familiarity with the Touhou series to arrange Dreamscape, anthem of the old internet that Hypercam represents, into a rhythmic, hectic, exciting melody, with a sense of dread overlaid on top of it all from the heavy synth covering it (see, there WAS a point in covering Nostalgic Blood of the Gregg ~ Old Source right before this!). It becomes a full-on back and fourth, triumphant higher-key brass responding to the droning eternity of Hypercam's synth melody - made even clearer as the melody and instrumentation occasioally changes to reflect the two finalists' own sourcelists. The amount of layers present in this theme are absolutely incredible, from the choir adding a sense of dread to the track's Hypercam-led sections, to the lone piano sounding as if the original Hypercam is trying to break free from the eternal spell he's been cast under, to the incorporation of the King for Another Day Tournament's main theme for the chorus - we may not see the battle play out, yet the music all on its own conveys a battle in such an engrossing, layered way.

The visual of the Unrestrained Hypercam 2's looming figure just adds the final touch upon it all, wielding the same spinning buzz-saw that was seen severing the thread of hope for all contestants way back in the "opening" to the tournament as a whole. The finality of the story was conveyed so expertly on every front, and the excitement back then was palpable - I still have my contribution to the MF LIKE BUTTON's power left on the video from all the way back in 2019, alongside 14 thousand other viewers (19 thousand on the video announcing the battle!). A duel with the Hypercam, and NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2) by extension, may not have been part of the initial plan for the event - but I am so, so happy that it wound up happening. Because the sense of community and excitement that I, and so many others, felt at this very moment of the channel's life, is one I'll forever cherish.

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sicklyseraphnsuch · 7 months ago

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DnD Combat and Critiques

Hey, so I have thoughts. I know! How unfortunate.

Combat in DnD is not always going to translate nicely into a narrative that follows storybeats. Like in a good fight, there's a plan - the plan fucks up - then there's a callback to some earlier themes that gets implemented into the finishing blow.

FCG did the last part.

It's the before that's the problem.

BH don't have a lot of synergy. Let's go back to the whole Dungeons and Dragons for all the roleplay - it's still a fighting game. And fighting games require some strategy.

BH does have a strategy. Hit the thing until it stops moving. And they usually do this through raw, brute strength. But when you're facing a high-level, Smart character, it's going to take more than bruteforce

I'm gonna out myself as a LoL player here. I know! It's really quite tragic.

But in teamfights, you do need some characters - like the tank or the support - who can pin down those highly mobile characters so they can just start hitting.

Yes. She had legendary resistances. But her resistances are limited. They had to burn those. Ideally, FCG or Fearne would have done that. Hell, maybe Ashton could have picked her up and squeezed - or tried to. Likewise, Laudna could have cast darkness and it would have crippled everyone but it would be some advantage.

This team desperately needed some way to limit her movement or ability to target them. But without that, FCG had no choice but to remain on healing duty and unable to chance spells like Banishment or fucking Plane Shift. Fearne needed to stay away from damage - let those better at it try - and focus on running utility. Aura of Life came way too late - not that it mattered bc again Otohan's hyper mobility.

I think it wasn't Otohan that was the problem. A lot of babies are kicking and crying that she was too hard. And yeah. She was. And arguably she wasn't the best villain for the audience bc yeah we know fuck all about her. Here's something to consider: Otohan was for the players, not the audience. At most, the audience gets a kick out of BH's reactions whenever she comes up. But her main job was to freak out the players - and she does.

Because BH is not prepared for high level combat. There. That's my critique.

When your healer goes into a rage if he heals too much, that's a liability in a fight. When neither of your tank-utility players have any reliable capture and crowd control capabilities, that's a problem. The most they had was Ashton's gravity well but she could clear that 10 ft difference with ease. They didn't need a fucking slow - they needed a stun.

This team is not equipped for a fight beyond brute force. They don't have a toolkit that lends itself well to tactics.

Otohan was absolutely beatable and I will die on that hill. They just didn't know how to fight her with the weapons they have. Outside of character growth, they really might need a good old fashioned shounen training arc.

#cr spoilers #critical role

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colorfullcast · 1 month ago

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Reborn! Next-> Class Start!

"Yes!" Felicia loudly proclaimed as she stood up from her seat, the only one to do so, and with a bright smile said. "I'm Felicia Luciana! I am 14 years old and my dream is to become the next Neo Vongola Primo!" There was a momentary pause, before one guy a row over started to laugh. Almost the entire class joined in. "Next Neo Vongola Primo? You can't be the NEXT Primo! That's not how mafia families work!" "Does she even know anything about the mafia?" "She's not gonna stay for long." Felicia scrunched her face a bit in annoyance before she straightened her back again with newly aquired determination. "Then I will be the next boss of my own famiglia!"

---

Reborn! Next-> Class Start! is an OPEN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE Project, meant to be a communal and cooperative story.

What is an Open Au?

What I mean by Open AU means that while the setting, several storybeats and some corner rules exist, anyone who has interest in the project is open to make their own Characters and storylines for it. These things do not need to be asked permission for, and you do not even need to know me for this.

What is the general setting?

The story plays in italy, roughly 12 years after the Manga of Katekyou Hitman Reborn! has ended. It is an AU sequel to Reborn! Next-> one of my own stories, though very losely.

Tsuna decided, that he wanted to only accept the position of Primo of the Neo Vongola, if he was allowed to keep residing in japan. For this to be feasable he goes through a lengthy and complicated process of transfer (this is roughly what Reborn! Next-> is about). After about 2 years, many battles and difficulties he finishes this job, having turned the Vongola into a lose conglomerate of overseen territories, that massively loosened their grip and influence on the italian political landscape. This gave birth to many enemies of the mafia establishing an "Anti Mafia" police that tries to crack down on the remaining landscape of the underground.

Tsuna helped in establishing a new mafia school, which is the primary setting of the AU. It is a school that has additional classes for aspiring mafiosi, be they here because of their families relations or purely out of their own volition. Next to math, physics and italian the children learn about flame control and science, combat and mafia politics. Many form their own little families, some keep solo and some have had a famiglia already given to them by their heritage.

While the students try to juggle all their classes and responsibilities, the Anti Mafia front tries to crack down on the school and the underground in general, causing quite some difficulties for the students.

What are the rules?

Be respectful. Everyone is open to participate, but like on any playground you should not be pushy about someone playing with you.

You can make as many characters or headcanons or scenarios as you want. If your partner is okay with it you can also ship your Ocs together

There are a few corner things to keep in mind regarding the setting, but these will be posted on this blog with a corresponding tag

If possible tag your stuff so we can all find them :3

This AU is a sequel to Next->, but honestly it would be interesting to hear about it set in other projects universes

How can I participate?

Just create! Create, ask for any clarification on @colorfullcast if you have any issues and tag your things with 'Reborn Next Class Start' for easy finding. Also have fun :3

Majour storybeats

The "main story" follows Felicia Luciana, a 14 year old Sky Flame that comes freshly into the school into grade 9, ready to establish her own family. The school by then has existed for about 3 years. Important school events are the Physical Combat Evaluation Tournament in February that lasts for about a week, where everyones combat prowess is evaluated in a big schoolwide tournament. At the end of the year in July, after the final years exams the school hosts a school celebration that goes over one weekend, so 2 days. The school goes from grade 9 to grade 13. Around when Felicia is in grade 11 do the tension with the Anti Mafia front become more prevelent.

Everything else is free for exploration

Important figures

Felicia Luciana

The main character and Boss of her own mafia family. She ran into Tsuna 5 years ago and he saved her from some bullies, giving her some encouraging words, which led to her idolizing him and deciding to follow the mafia route. In tandem with this she also uses gloves, and boots for combat

Bianca [Picrew]

The Student Representative and in grade 11, a Sky Flame User, that is the top student at the school, but, unlike other Skies, keeps completely to herself. There is a lot of mystery surrounding her, but she has friends, she is not a complete loner, just doesn't have a family.

Theodore [Picrew]

Vice Student Representative and like Bianca a top student and also a Sky. He however does have a famiglia and a mysterious mentor, suggesting that he has some legacy or heritage, that he never speaks of. He is cunning and a schemer, but very friendly once you get to know him. Also in grade 11.

Felix [Picrew]

One of Felicias later guardians, wielding a rain flame and in the future becoming a formidable sharpshooter. He got into the school by accident, not knowing it is a mafia school, but eventually stays because of Felicia.

Giulia [Picrew]

Felicias later storm guardian, or at least a member wielding a storm flame. Very girly and easy going. She wields a sword, but she doesn't seem to be very passionate about anything with a very "sure, why not? sounds fun!" type of attitude.

#reborn next class start #Reborn! Next-> Class Start!#Reborn next class start psa #reborn next class start info

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moongothic · 11 months ago

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Okay, here goes. What's your ultimate Crocodad timeline? You can go as wild or as believable as you want.

I mean I made this timeline chart/post/thing.

But if you meant it in a more "how do you think things actually went down" specific kinda way, uhhhhh. Great question, not sure I know how to answer. Like. The possibilities on what could've happened and how are nearly endless and all those options are so interesting to me. Even if there's ideas I feel like might be more likely than others, or I find myself more invested in some ideas, I can't fully like, dedicate myself to any specific idea for a plot point or a storybeat or anything, especially if there's nothing to suggest if anything even remotely similar could've happened.

Like, say for example, how did Crocodile and Dragon meet? There's literally infinite ways they could've met, to the point I'm not even really that interested in speculating on it, because more likely than not, any guess I make will probably be wrong. Like speculating about something like that feels almost pointless. Compare that to say, how did Luffy end up in Garp's care? While we know like nothing about what exactly happened, we do have any theoretical information (ex: Garp and Croc should not know about each other, meaning there must've been a third party to deliver the baby, and it's more than likely that was Dragon) that we can get to much more specific when speculating about what might've happened. Like there's still plenty of options, but the options are far fewer, which makes the speculation so much more interesting, for me at least

But at the same time, I don't want to get too fond of any idea in because Oda could still prove me wrong and debunk it and I'd be sad if I got like fond of a concept and I ended up being dead wrong lmao

Mind you, for me, a big part of the reason I'm invested in the theory to begin with IS the possibility of it being canon. Like yes Crocodad would and always will make for fun AU fanfics regardless of if it's canon or not. But I am here to more or less speculate about canon.

So between my brain treating Crocodad as this monstrous, gigantic flow chart, and me not wanting to get too attached to any potential path on the chart... Yeah I don't know what to tell you anon, I'm sorry

Like. Just as an example. On how my brain processes this shit.

(Sidenote, this chart is like under the assumption that Croc and Dragon had mutually agreed that their child would be put in the care of Dragon's father. And while that makes the most sense to me by a long shot, technically it's totally possible Luffy was taken away from Crocodile by force by Dragon or something else) (THERE'S SO MANY POTENTIAL THINGS THAT COULD'VE HAPPENED, AHHHHHHH)

Like here, I think the most likely canon scenarios would be the "Respectful Rejection" followed by "Too Stunned To Speak -> It's Bad" routes, though personally I might be most interested in the "It Was Really Bad" route because it'd be really fucked up and sad

So like. Yeah. I have no idea what my "ultimate Crocodad timeline" would be, there's too much room for speculation to the point anything specific would leave the room of Neutral Canon Speculation and just turn into a plain old fanfic, and I'm just here for theorizing

But hey if you wanted a fanfic, here's a TL:DR;

(You know I say this is a TL:DR; but this got so fucking long it almost broke this post. Like Tumblr would not let me save the draft or post it anymore because there's a 4k character limit to "blocks", I had to break this into chunks man)

If Crocodile was betrayed by his crew after losing to Whitebeard and had to kill them himself in self-defence;

Who the fuck knows, maybe by some twist of fate our wounded/dying, exhausted and traumatized Crocodile drifted in the sea and his ship ran into Dragon, the man rescuing Crocodile from the kindness of his heart or something IDK

If the dude had to kill his own crew immidiately after Whitebeard crushed his hopes and dreams, Crocodile must've been just absolutely shell shocked. Depressed and withdrawn, just out of it. So maybe Dragon being there could've been great for Croc's mental state. Maybe. Big maybe.

If Crocodile did turn out to be the Rev Army's Secret Sugar Daddy then perhaps this is how that relationship kind of started: Crocodile could've paid Dragon in cash money as thanks for saving his life, and then just kept the money coming since Dragon had an army to run and needed the funds

(Like we don't know why Crocodile joined the Shichibukai anyways, but if it was only ever for The Benefits of not having to deal with the Marines chasing his ass anymore and if he didn't give a rat's ass about the Government... Like yeah, why not fund the Revolutionary Army, give money to the people trying to directly take down the fuckers while right under their noses.) (Who knows maybe Croc does have his own reasons for hating the WG and had like a genuine reason beyond just being a petty king and/or having basic human decency in understanding why the WG was corrupt and needed to be overthrown)

Thus begins a secret comradery where Crocodile every now and then goes and drops off some money to Dragon to help fund the Army, nobody on either side of the war any wiser (except maybe Iva-chan, they're allowed to be in on the secret, as a treat). It's their secret that they keep for years

Time passes

Whoopsie poopsie Crocodile's prégónánté

The two realize that their kid is going to be in so much danger for a pletora of reasons and that neither can raise the baby. Dragon knows his father would keep their baby safe and they both agree to leaving the child to him (not a happy decision, it's just for the best, for everyone's sake)

Anyway Crocodile's gender dysphoria goes into turbo mode during pregnancy. Maybe he never really realized it was there and/or what it was, but boy howdy, it's there now and it's really really bad. Like, if it wasn't for the baby he might just kill himself (and god knows once the kid is out and taken away, there's not going to be anything to stop him from doing just that)

Crocodile must've gone into hiding during the latter half of his pregnancy to keep it a secret from the Government, and I could totally imagine him being hellbent on being completely isolated. He is a Shichibukai, everybody knows him, he can't risk having even some random doctor recognize him and find out about the baby. Besides, it's not like he can do much while hiding anyways, like he might as well read 150 medical books to ensure he can deliver his baby by himself

(Sidenote but the narrator in OP has called Fuusha Village Luffy's "birth place" (think the term he used was "umereta machi", lit. "town he was born in"), and if that's true, then. Croc should've been hiding in and/or near Fuusha Village in Goa Kingdom. Additional sidenote, there are wild crocodiles in Goa, which are the Sir's favorite food.)

To avoid suspicion and the risk of being found out, Dragon might've agreed to not go see Crocodile during this time, only agreeing to see his significant other after the child was born so he could then deliver the baby to Garp (after not just leaving the Marines but also starting a fucking revolutionary army, the dude probably didn't want his father to find out he had been dating a fucking WARLORD)

But surely he'd think Crocodile was insane if he thought he'd let Crocodile deliver the baby alone. Like no, somebody needs to be there by his side. Someone Dragon could trust, a fellow Revolutionary perhaps. Oh yeah, just send Ivankov, what could possibly go wrong

(Personal headcanon but since we don't know when Ivankov got their Fruit, I kind of want to imagine they ate it just a short time ago at this point and that they hadn't fully realized the potential of the Hormone Fruit yet. Like their genderfluid ass may not have understood the power they now held)

Iva-chan did not know Croc was prénánté, whether Dragon told Ivankov ahead of time why they were being sent to check on Croc is up or debate (if Iva-chan was aware of Croc being their Secret Sugar Daddy though then I'm sure they understood why Dragon wanted and was willing to help out Crocodile in this situation). Croc and/or Dragon probably lied through their teeth about the father of the child if Iva-chan ever asked about it, and whatever Iva-chan was told they clearly bought it since they never knew about Dragon having a kid.

When Iva gets there though they can see right away that something is fucking wrong with Crocodile, in ways even he can't understand. He is so uncomfortable 24/7 for seemingly no reason. So naturally Iva-chan pokes and prods at the dumbass until Croc has a break down and explains his weird feelings he can't even word properly and this is how Emporio Ivankov discovered transgenderism

What's that? You don't like what pregnancy has done to your body, doesn't feel like it's yours anymore? You feel love for your child but don't want to be its mother? Good news, you can be its father instead. Bad news, gotta wait until the baby is farted out. Aren't sure about it? No worries, there's time to think about it, and shit's 100% reversible anyways. Just hang in there for a little bit longer, you may feel god awful rn but that too shall pass

(Maybe this is how Iva-chan starts calling Crocodile "Crocoboy", just to get him to warm up to the idea that he could be(come) a man, get used to it etc)

Crocodile has an identity crisis of a lifetime. Like either he knew since he was a small child that something was fucky wucky, or he never realized it until now, either way, he must not have even been aware of the idea that he could trans his gender (which would make sense if Ivankov only recently got their Fruit just sayin'). So yeah. Enjoy that gender crisis, dumbass

Like he straight up just goes through the five stages of grief before he's like "god dammit if it'll make me feel less like I'll kill myself then it's worth a shot, don't care what Dragon ends up thinking"

At some point Croc must've contacted Dragon at least one final time just so they can agree on when and where they'll meet to hand over the baby once it's born (if Croc doesn't die at child birth. I mean they both know he'll be fine, Croc's survived worse. But if something did happen, Iva-chan will take care of the baby until Dragon arrives)

This is One Piece. Luffy was born at dawn.

Crocodile probably insists on getting the T literally immidiately after the baby is out. If he doesn't just pass out immidiately after giving birth. But like within 24 hours of giving birth. Iva-chan is probably like "Crocoboy you're exhausted, chill, your cooch needs to recover" and he's just like "why wait for it to recover when you're going to get rid of it, just do it"

(Iva-chan probably goes and gets Croc some emergency clothes and like bottles and baby food etc because god knows he's going to burst out of his old clothes and he ain't gonna have the tiddies to breastfeed that baby either)

Anyway he gets the rones and gets to enjoy gender euphoria for the first time in his life. Happy times, happy tears, a happy croc

Dude probably nearly shits himself when he tries to speak as he is now voiced by Ryuuzaburo Fucking Ootomo (even Iva-chan is like "HOLY SHIT your voice dropped") (like they probably agressively try to encourage Crocodile to speak more and let them hear that voice and Croc is like "ssssshhhhhhhhh stop yelling you'll wake up the baby!!")

Anyway he finally gets to fucking rest and relax and enjoy the sheer relief of not just being free of his dysphoria but also his baby boy being born and looking all healthy and happy. A happy dad

(If Crocodile was the first person Iva-chan helped transition, and under these circumstances specifically. I think seeing the guy and his sheer relief would give like Iva-chan a new mission in life. To help people like Croc)

(Ivankov: "It's like a great weight has been lifted off your chest... GET IT, 'CAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TITS ANYMORE! HEEHAW!!" / 🐊: "If you wake up the baby I will skewer you")

Anyway if the Rev Army member stays with Crocodile for too long there's a risk of them getting found out and that'd be bad, so Iva-chan needs to GTFO (they have better things to do, like overthrow some governments and stuff). Also Crocodile needs to prepare because he can't have the Government wondering where the fuck he's been all these months much longer (god knows explaining his sudden manliness is going to be enough to deal with) and the kid needs to go into hiding. If Iva-chan asks where the child is going, Croc probably won't give a straight answer, just that there's a plan and he needs Ivankov to keep the baby a secret etc (perhaps that could be the blackmail Iva-chan brought up in Impel Down 🤔)

Crocodile gets to spend a little time with his baby boy (before and/or after Iva-chan leaves). Crocodiles (the animals) look after their babies for three months before they're on their own, so at most he stayed with his baby for three months, though I'd argue just 3 weeks, simply because that'd a painfully short amount of time that's just perfect for tragic storytelling

Perhaps that was the happiest time of Croc's life. No stupid Government to deal with, no pirates to fight, no villages to pillage. Just him and his beautiful baby boy. Not even the knowledge of knowing he'd have to say goodbye to his son forever would get in the way of his happiness at that moment.

(Did he ever think about what to name the child? Maybe Dragon had wanted Crocodile to name their child and Crocodile was supposed to think of something while expecting, before the baby was born. Or maybe, knowing he would never see that child again (until the Government blows up) he could not bring himself to think of a name. It'd be Dragon's father who'd look after the baby anyways, Dragon should name him)

Dragon comes. Either exactly at the agreed upon time, or perhaps a day early (dude was too excited and wanted to be with his wife and child, together as a family, even if it was for a day). Whenever he arrives;

See the chart earlier in the post

However things go down, Dragon and Crocodile go their separate ways. Crocodile leaves the island immidiately.

Well. I certainly became absolutely deranged writing this.

HOPE YOU FOUND THAT ENTERTAINING

#Moon posting #OP Meta #Asks #Sir Crocodile #Crocodad #You gotta go down the post for a surprise :)#Look. I just like the idea that Ivankov helped deliver Luffy and has no fucking idea #They find out and have a fucking breakdown because THAT'S THE SWEET LITTLE BABY BOY THEY HELPED DELIVER. HE'S GROWN UP SO FAST

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palaceoftheprophets · 1 year ago

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I’ve been thinking a bit about why Izzy’s death, while sad, still felt like a “good” end for him to me and then I remembered…Felix Gaeta’s entire tragic arc in Battlestar Galactica.

In a show with a lot of morally grey characters making morally grey decisions, it still wasn’t popular to be a Felix Gaeta fan but I WAS. He starts out an idealistic math nerd in a sea of hot shot pilots, a Star Trek character who got lost in the hellish world of BSG.

Gaeta’s storybeats are strangely similar to Izzy (betrays the heroes, unhealthy infatuation/admiration of his boss, getting to Showcase His Singing for Plot Reasons, leg amputation, early death, metatexually queer). But the story beats for Gaeta follow a path of deterioration, not growth. Izzy’s end is bittersweet. Greta’s end is…bleak.

Directly opposite of Izzy, Gaeta starts off idealistic, only to get more jaded as war, occupation, and disillusionment eats away at him. He does what he can to secretly resist within the oppressive regime of the enemies, after throwing his support behind his former hero who quickly reveals himself to be a useless puppet. He then chooses mutiny rather than ally with those enemies later on (and picking yet another shitty leader to follow). And for his transgressions, Gaeta loses his leg, spends his final days in agony, and gets executed as a traitor. (He’s also revealed to be queer in the bonus features, but we never see it in the main show, so whether or not is counts as Bury Your Gays is debatable.)

In comparison Izzy’s end, after completing a full redemption arc, accepting and embracing queer joy in Calypso’s Birthday, surrounded by people who’d grown to appreciate him after he opened up, in the arms of his closest companion after being called his family…

I don’t know, people are of course free to feel however they want. BSG and OFMD are tonally very different shows, but remembering Gaeta’s whole tragic arc and abrupt end made me appreciate Izzy’s ending even more.

…I still kinda wish he had lived, though

#battlestar galactica #felix gaeta #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #izzy hands #the izcourse #(For the two other people who liked Felix Gaeta out there)#(and also watched OFMD)#…this might be one of those posts that is solely for me #ofmd meta #ofmd spoilers

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felassan · 2 years ago

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Some thoughts on the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf leak on Reddit which included screenshots & a gif along with text, under a cut due to potential spoilers for DA:D -

first: the usual set of disclaimers that accompany all leaks apply - might not be real, unable to verify at present, games change a fair bit between development phases and final release, take with grain of salt etc

Screenshots:

Weisshaupt, headquarters of the Grey Wardens, as a location which we will travel to irl and not in the Fade.. ngl I have been dreaming of this since 2010 [yelling]. really hyped. we previously speculated these concepts were of Weisshaupt. (compare the blue-ish domes in those with the blue-ish dome structures in the screenshots.) in some of the screenshots, Weisshaupt looked badly damaged.

Weisshaupt Library is extensive and was noted in Last Flight to contain a glass sarcophagus decorated with the horns of Andoral that contains the arms and armor of Garahel. BioWare pls.. Iet's see it :D and what if by 9:52 the Library or Weisshaupt also contains some relics of or references to the Hero of Ferelden.. 🥺👉👈 or that there are some references to Hawke's presence in Weisshaupt at one time kicking around in codex or notes or something..

Seems to confirm that Davrin ("Nobody dies on my watch! For the Wardens!") is a companion who can join us in the field. I wonder if we start out with him or get him early in the game, like Alistair/Morrigan, Cassandra/Varric etc. obviously for later game missions you can choose anyone to come with you usually so it could just be that, but perhaps this storybeat we're seeing here is set near the start of the game? and with darkspawn attacking Weisshaupt (confirmed as well in the text), the very heart of the order, imagine how Davrin's feeling (since he seems to be a rather heroic or knightly Warden).. :[

The other named and voiced character from that previous trailer was Bellara. if Davrin is a companion like we may be seeing here, it wouldn't be wild to suggest that maybe Bellara is too, given they were both featured similarly at the time.

"There's worse than darkspawn on the way" / "And the walls won't hold it back" likely refers to the dragon said in the text to also be attacking Weisshaupt? it some of the screenshots in the background there looks to be the silhouette of a great beast, maybe the dragon. their head certainly looks draconic.

ROOK? :D NOW WHO ARE THEY? another companion like Davrin? this makes three new named DA:D characters (as in appearing in the game itself) that we know of. Davrin, Bellara and Rook. the other possibility is what if Rook is the PC? is "Rook" a surname, title or codename? it's catchy, cool/badass, snappy, short, Hawke-like.

"Rook" imagery (brought up by the name): birds (Hawke had a bird motif), corvids (Antivan Crows..), the Skyhold Rookery (what if they were an agent or former agent of Leliana's? "Rook" would be a good spy codename and it would fit in with stuff like 'Rector' and 'Charter'.. plus it seems we'll have some link to the Inquisition remnants going forwards per TN etc), chess pieces (games of strategy, tactics, trying to outwit Solas, Solas manipulating events), the Tower tarot card and its meanings, and most interestingly [yodels]: the Red Book, the front of which shows a wolf aflame above a rook/tower. the Red Book link makes me lean towards "Rook is the PC"

What on earth is a "Spawn Boil"? darkspawn-associated, and "boil" carries both unpleasant + dangerous/unhealthy imagery, it doesn't sound good at all.. the Children in Awakening spent time in cocoons, they had hatchlings, and there are fleshy sacks of the Taint in previous games.. maybe the pulsing red dark thing we saw previously is a Spawn Boil (a pulsing or cocoon-like thing always gives me the impression that something might hatch or burst out of it, and boils can burst or pop..), and red lyrium has something to do with it, especially considering the following point

Lots of red in some images. not good. not good at all (as in, I'm in-universe worried. u know). the text refers to red lyrium. Varric, don't look 😭 in the image which includes "Destroy the Spawn Boils", the darkspawn are fuzzy so I'm squinting and could just be seeing things but they remind me a lot of these guys. hello, red lyrium darkspawn creatures! (also confirmed in the text) I guess that could be why we need to hurry and destroy the Spawn Boils, because red lyrium darkspawn come out of them or are powered up by them or trying to spread them or somesuch

UI may change between now and release (UI is often one of the last things done or tweaked in a game iirc) I think so I'm leaving off focusing overmuch on it just now. I like the purple though

seems like this playtest was being done on a console?

menus and similar: Map, Character, Companions, Skills, Collections (what's Collections, stuff like mosaic pieces?). an inventory 'bag'. equipment slots. accessory slots. skill slots. currency. are the bits next to the money going to be resource piles, like for crafting? the Grappling Chain warrior skill returns. considering this character is a Warrior, maybe the punching arm icon is for Mighty Blow? the Guard mechanic returns. Items can't be changed during combat. looks like there's multiple slots on the shield itself (for runes and upgrades?)

Item description: "A shield emblazoned with the Templar's symbol. It's particularly effective at absorbing impacts. This one has been enchanted by the Mournwatch" [!!!] "to grant additional resistance against Spirits".

"Level [x] Grey Warden"? Is that this character's background/origin, class, spec? Can the PC become a Grey Warden? Any relation to the 'factions background' fan-theory? Also this character is an elf! in the text the leaker seemed to say that this was who they played. So the PC is an elf, or race selection returns?

The armor and equipment etc looks cool

Also what's with the crumbling stuff in the background on the character menu, do you see that? :D It's like the crumbling of the Dreadwolf logo and promo art assets on the website. Fadey stuff and realitywarping-theories senses tingling..

in the image where there's a character who isn't wearing a helmet, the hair looks decent. that's something which is also mentioned in the text.

also in that image, what's with the purpley fire[?] stuff? purple lyrium? (red+blue=....) purple roots? also there is a green tint to the lighting outside in this image. I think this whole segment we're seeing (darkspawn attack Weisshaupt and something?? is going on) is this scene from concept art being played out on-screen.

very Wardenny doors with the griffons and the chalice. the closing door scene reminds me of the 'party closes the doors to the Temple of Mythal' scene in DA:I. also like the variety of characters holding the door shut & shown in the level scene. humans, dwarves, elves, someone who looks like they're a Qunari. does one of the dwarves look like Harding to anyone else, or am I tripping?

hhh the Grey Wardens put griffon decorations on their big lever.

Gif:

Warriors seem to have have a kicking skill or move, as shown by the foot skill icon and move executed by the character (text describes this as being like a drop kick)

Dead bodies on the ground which don't yet have their textures (that's normal)

More darkspawn

"Resilience"

More purple stuff

It looks or 'feels' like the snippet we saw from the trailer (Grey Warden-armor character doing Shield Wall)

Hard to judge ofc from a very short snippet that we ourselves aren't playing, but yeah the combat looks action-y (action RPG) and from this snippet at least I don't personally see why I wouldn't enjoy it or find it fine (everyone's different tho ofc ^^)

Text (body of post):

"I was honestly shocked when we got no gameplay reveal at TGA, as I was sure we'd get something considering the timing this video was shared with me" - this is interesting

OP notes that what the playtester played was early Alpha. DA:D completed its Alpha milestone in October 2022

Some elements missing textures, missing audio etc tracks with what was said in Insider Gaming's report

Story details: the segment was set within Weisshaupt. the PC being played here is an elf (this was apparent from the screenshots but reading "the player character was an elf" sent me to another planet with hype ok). ((I hope this means race selection returns)) I could be wrong but I'd guess that "Knight" was like, general fantasy world language the playtester was using to try and describe what the character they played was like to their contact, rather than in-game text for the character (in the same way as how "mirrored portal" may be eluvians)? A warrior, armed and armored in gray/silver with a sword, shield and helmet, you know? I'd guess the "knight dude" party member is Davrin (Davin - Grey Warden warrior, confirmed?). Lady dwarf companion confirmed?? (Harding? or Bellara?)

I do hope three squadmates as in DAO, DAII and DA:I hasn't been reduced to only two as this suggests. It's like that in ME so it's not the end of the world, but three friends is always going to be more fun and engaging, especially in a series in which the companions are always the high point

More story details: Darkspawn attacking Weisshaupt (as we see in the screenshots) is a big deal hello?? This is the famous Warden stronghold, their very HQ, being attacked by the thing they exist to destroy/protect the world from. explains why Weisshaupt looks wrecked. Wtf is going on??? scared.. Where is the First Warden in all of this? this is so not good. Especially given the red lyrium spreading and the red lyrium darkspawn. That isn't a surprise as we saw something to that effect in concept art and a trailer, but still. we in danger. "some have red lyrium attacks" omg. is there any connection between this attack on Weisshaupt and whatever weird stuff was implied to be going on at Weisshaupt in the DA:I epilogue?

The dragon is also Concerning.. like. Darkspawn attacking, with a dragon involved. That sounds like a Blight and an Archdemon. Is this the Sixth Blight? is it a Red Lyrium Blight? I'm reminded of this concept art. also HELLO?

"The objective is to fight through the Darkspawn to get to the library, but as you are doing so there is also a big ass dragon attacking from above. And the dragon creates occasional environmental and traversal hazards. It ends once you reach the library, close the gates," [this will be the door shutting scene surely] "and then come face to face with the dragon. It appears you are then supposed to try and chain the dragon up, but it ends before the player completes that." I guess the big lever we see has something to do with trying to chain the dragon up. Why chain it up?? I'm reminded of Ataashi in Trespasser, the dragon in Dark Fortress and the dragon in Absolution. I guess if it was a normal Archdemon, why would we be chaining it up? so it's not or there's something weird or something else going on

"Basically, buildings and whatnot are all modeled and textured but the skybox itself is very dark and makes it seem as though the entire fortress is underground, although it is clearly not. I suspect the skybox could contain some giant world event, similar to the Breach, they hadn't finished." - this is interesting and I'm once again reminded of this piece of concept art where there's something wild going on in the sky or air outside Weisshaupt

OP was told about the God of War (2018) thing, which is what was said on ResetEra. they also mention about little to no party control (or none currently), which is what was said in the Insider Gaming article and iirc was said on ResetEra

Does "completely in real-time" imply no pause button or tactical cam in this build?

Since there's an 'Armor' bar, maybe 'Guard' is actually the special bar that builds up allowing you to pull off a musou special move?

"I don't really understand the comparison to FF15's wheel. It's standard Dragon Age ability wheel." - this contrasts with the bit about this in the Insider Gaming article

Animation quality has drastically improved, jumping returns, warriors can parry and counter

Player's hair "looked glorious", "flowing and bouncing" omg. don't need to say anything here other than [yodels]

Text (comments from OP):

OP elaborates in a comment that the screenshots/gif footage is from an "early build, years old", and that the game is now "way past this state"

On the dragon's environmental hazards, OP expands: "Like the dragon spews fire on the ground requiring you to go around an intended path or blocks off a path so you gotta go up a ladder"

OP describes the level shown as linear

OP mentions in a comment that "Red Templars" are what's invading Weisshaupt, but given the darkspawn they mention elsewhere and in the screenshot text, I'm assuming they meant "red lyrium darkspawn" here and got mixed up?

More references to the devs looking at Gears of War (2018) as a guide when making DA:D, in terms of things like combat/inspiration (it sounds like that anyway)

general feel/thoughts: no way of knowing for sure but looks/feels real/legit to me. also I like the look and feel of it, am excited :)

also I rambled in places in this post sry. :'>

[source]

#dragon age: dreadwolf #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #dragon age the veilguard spoilers #bioware #video games #cassandra pentaghast #my lady paladin #morrigan #queen of my heart #long post #longpost #(i wont be posting the pics or gif here)#dragon age: absolution #dragon age: absolution spoilers #mass effect

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eggs-benedict-afton · 10 months ago

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So, last night I read the MikeVictim doc (don't judge me, I like reading lol) and the author admitted at their conclusion that although they believe the MikeVictim theory, they thought it was a stupid idea (I'm assuming as a storybeat) and would have preferred the story that's presented by BullyMike more. I was just wondering if you think something similar to it. Although you're after the truth, do you like the story that's told by following the MikeVictim theory or do you stand by the theory due to the evidence and would have preferred if the potential canon was something different?

Hmm I suppose I prefer what Scott has intended based on how the narrative has been presented to us. If the games told the story differently (For instance, if the Foxy Bully was the main character you play in FNAF 4 instead of the CC) then I would prefer Mike being the bully because it would make more sense for the narrative that's been shown. So with that in mind, I do prefer Michael being the BV because it lines up with other canon aspects very well. For example, something that I've recently thought about is Michael's personal goals: we know for certain he wants to find his father, potentially to find some sort of truth or get revenge. This lines up with him being the BV because he had been manipulated by his father since he was a child (Fredbear plush, FNAF 4 observatory rooms, ect.) If Michael was the older brother, the narrative of "avenging his brother due to guilt" complicates his character arc and doesn't really line up well with Michael's canon goal. However, if the story had been presented differently to line up with the guilt narrative, then I would lean more towards the older brother theory. I personally think the narrative of Michael being driven by personal vengeance due to his father experimenting on him and manipulating him since he was a child gives him a more interesting character. Since Henry already has the role of the main "hero" who wants to save the children, Michael wanting revenge puts him in an interesting anti-hero role out for his own goals. I hope that makes sense! Thanks so much for the question!

#its me michael.txt #fnaf #michael afton #eggs benedict #fnaf 4 #theory #victim mike

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scalproie · 1 year ago

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i cannot tell what is going on over there in mortal kombat. is your ship incest now? is this a dread pirate rogers situation? no idea!

buddy you really think I would be enthusiastic over fucking incest? If anything Im celebrating that its not. Its more a inter-timeline dread pirate rogers situation yeah

ok so for the actual explanation, three names you need to know: hanzo hasashi, bi-han and kuai liang.

For 30 real life years aka mortal kombat's entire runtime, hanzo hasashi has been scorpion: yellow ninja with fire powers, his whole deal was that he has been killed and came back with the only goal to take his revenge (either for himself or for his family that was also killed, it depends)

He was killed by bi-han aka sub zero, blue chinese assassin with ice powers. BUT bi-han is only sub zero in a particular instance: in the first tournament of mortal kombat aka always the first game, where he gets killed by scorpion. He comes back in following games as a literal shadow of his former self, and without ice powers. he never stays sub zero for long.

enters kuai liang, bi-han's younger brother who's also a cryomancer, who took the mantle of sub zero in the second game and has stayed the most consistent sub zero for the entirety of mortal kombat.

Theres been two timelines for mortal kombat, the og one going from mk1 to mk: armageddon (mk7), and the second one going from mk9 to mk11. Its a bit more complicated than that but im sparing you the details.

the og timeline has its moments (like scorpion deciding to protect the new sub zero to atone for killing his brother, even going so far as to switch sides and kill the big bad in his mk3 ending bc sub zero was on the opposite team), and the second timeline has even more (the mk9 sub zero ending and every single one of their shared scenes from mkx (mk10) to mk11) that makes the two enjoyable as an item. Its a fairly popular relationship in the fandom and their whole deal also happen to be my cup of tea idk what to tell you there. When people say "subscorp" it means kuai liang/hanzo as they were both the definitive sub zero/scorpion.

anyway we are at the dawn of a new timeline in mk12. and even tho its not the first mortal kombat soft reboot, as they already did that in mk9, this one is WHOLLY shaking things up. Mk9 was new but it kept for the most part the og backstories, dynamics and storybeats of the og timeline, with only some twists there and there to keep it fresh.

Mk12 drops the bombshell among other things that this time around, scorpion and sub zero are brothers, and if you think they mean "brother-in-arms" NO ed boon is very adamant to let everyone know every interview that they're blood brothers now, they have the same father and everything, and that their shared storyline is no longer a story of revenge, but a brotherly conflict of ideologies. Confusing and dark times (this was mere months ago).

Later the sub zero gets revealed to be bi-han, and now this begged the question: who is scorpion? He is dressed in yellow, have fire powers, and a literal scorpion tattoo. For many people it meant it was hanzo: he's been scorpion for 30 years, why would it change now (even tho this raised a lot of question like why is he now part of his enemy clan, why would he still be japanese and has a japanese name if his now brother and father are chinese, and so on). For others, the fact that this scorpion had: 1) kuai liang's brother, 2) kuai liang's dynamic with said brother, 3) kuai liang's face (as his face model was really similar to his mk11 one), 4) kuai liang's position in his clan, and in a later trailer revealed to also have 5) kuai liang's best friend, and 6) kuai liang's dynamic with said best friend, meant that uuuuuuh, maybe it was kuai liang. Even tho the guy named "Quick Freeze" in chinese had now fire powers.

Anyway this has been making me insane, if it was hanzo it had LITERALLY NOTHING in common with hanzo but the yellow outfit and fire powers, if it was kuai liang it was such a wild departure from kuai liang as we know him that this might as well be another guy completely. This guy is supposed to be the definitive sub zero but he cant fit that role anymore, he has fire powers.

Flash forward to last night, back on friday they revealed three mk trailers at comic con, and to keep the promo train rolling, they were invited by ign for an interview on saturday, and among the people there was yuri lowenthal aka smoke's new voice actor (let me remind you that smoke is and has been kuai liang/sub zero's best friend for both timelines). One of the dev was talking about smoke's role in mk12, and says this:

"We are playing up the relationship he had with Kuai Liang- uuuh Scorpion. Um. and-"

Its an accidental slip up so this is still to take with a grain of salt until we get actual footage confirmation that kuai liang is scorpion in mk12, but also come on, you cant fuck up that badly with context, kuai liang is scorpion in mk12.

And considering how HARD theyve been marketing it as "scorpion and sub zero are brothers now!" and not "one of the sub zero brothers is scorpion now!" Im guessing this was supposed to be a big reveal for later. Oh well.

Anyway now we know who sub zero is (bi-han), we know who has the mantle of scorpion this time around (kuai liang), and now the only person MIA is hanzo. Many people, me included, hope that he's narratively retired chilling somewhere and is enjoying life with his alive family for once, dude's had a hard life.

and to answer your question, no, its not incest now because hanzo is still unrelated to the sub zero brothers (tho one of them is scorpion now), and "subscorp" remains safe bc its really, again, more about kuai liang and hanzo than the ship of "scorpion" and "sub zero" regardless of who they might be.

#I SWEAR im not as ship-obsessed as I sound. I SWEAR my enjoyment of mk is more than Ninjas In Love.#if anything Im hyped for the quality subz bros content (even tho. again. one of them is no longer subz) we might get #did you know they never interacted on screen when they were both alive? wild.#anyway yeah. hope this helps. I hate mortal kombat btw #good morning #we poppin bottles #tagging later #anon

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tugadork · 2 years ago

Text

Discussing Hans' Hypothetical Return in Frozen 3

So... been a long while since I've made a post on here. For the few Frozen peeps who follow me, my Fractured fan-fic is currently on an indefinite hiatus (I still very much plan to continue writing it and seeing it through to the end and actually post it at some point, but writer's block continues to pester me and I still need much more storybeats to properly flesh out before I get any serious work done; by now I've only written like half the prologue section).

With that out of the way, and with Frozen 3 being officially greenlit, the question still wonders in the air whether or not everyone's favorite dastardly prince has the opportunity to make a comeback after being left out of Frozen 2 (though, at least we know via that one Santino Fontana's old interview that Hans was intended to be a part of the second movie very early on during development, or at least, the idea itself was discussed).

As of right now, and realistically speaking, I don't think it's very likely for a few reasons: Jen Lee clearly has changed her mind between Frozens 1 and 2 in regards to Hans' character so I don't believe she would begin to consider revisiting his character; him literally being called an unreedemable monster by Elsa in F2 is not a good indication for any chances of a redemption arc with him should he return; in that one group interview with Santino, Josh Gad and the Lopez a few years back, Hans was brought up and Gad even supported the idea of him coming back for a Frozen 3, but Santino seemed very hesitant to the idea so, if he doesn't want to do it assuming they want Hans back, then I don't think he would do it (unless maybe they give the character some depth or give him an overall importance to the plot. I don't know, something that could convince him to come back to the role.)

But I also like to consider what-ifs, and one of those what-ifs is with what to do with Hans' character should he be revisited, because there are quite a few storytelling routes they could go with him, which I will discuss below and you guys can tell me your thoughts if you're particularly interested. These are just basic ideas that came to my head:

1 - Hans is hellbent on revenge against the Arendelle sisters, is the main villain of Frozen 3 and somehow manipulates his family (who is 100% innocent and comprised of good people) into starting a war with Arendelle because of Elsa's unlimited power; still being portrayed as he was during the fireplace scene in F1. [a very generic and boring option for me; many people take issue with how almost unnatural his shift to mustache-twirling villain was, so fleshing his character out a little, villainous or not, I think would help in the long run. Plus, him being the sole main villain would get stale imo]

2 - Like F2 and Frozen Fever, Hans does return somewhat but is made into nothing but a punchline throughout the whole movie, aka the General Hux effect while one or some of his family members play the main villain(s) and ridicule him. [the least interesting and most cringeworthy route to take, and the joke would get old real fast. Not to mention, canonically speaking, Hans' family life hasn't been... great, so I feel like portraying an abusive family relationship like this, even if Hans isn't a good person, would be very uncomfortable and send the wrong message]

3 - Hans' abhorrent actions and consequences, as well as his backstory bit by bit, are fully explored, and he's disowned and exiled by his family following a trial that takes place shortly after his arrival home. Stewing with anger and resentment as he wanders alone, he is eventually approached by the actual main villain (another elemental user would be cool and long overdue for these movies in my eyes) and is ironically manipulated into taking vengeance against those he feels wronged him (Anna and Elsa included) when said villain promises him the rule of the Southern Isles and the happiness he so desires. The villain only intends to use him for their own agenda and someone to take the fall for their actions, choosing to stay in the shadows until the right moment to strike. Hans goes along with the plan, and at first he's thrilled and vindicated, but one tragic moment shatters his concept of morality (this could be any number of things as long as it results in him having a serious wake-up call) and makes him realize how catastrophically wrong his actions are and not being able to cope with it. In the end though, and through moments of actual self-reflection, he helps Frohana to take down the main villain. If he dies, then Anna realizes that people aren't black-and-white like in the storybooks she read as a kid, and decides to forgive him despite what he's done, while Elsa does not. If he survives, either Anna still forgives him or none of the sisters forgive him, but they recognize the change in his character. Hans ultimately gets to make a life for himself, one where he's not shackled by the past. Also, he gets to interact with Olaf in this (seriously guys, immediate comedic potential here, this is literally one of the reasons why I want them to bring Hans back) and Kristoff which he never got to do in the first one. [this, to me, would be much more interesting. Hans' actions would not be taken lightly and the story would later punish him, but through that experience owning up to his mistakes and starting to atone; maybe meeting a few commoners during his exile which he eventually grows to care for or something would gradually kickstart his change. I really love this concept and will probably make a separate post on this that's much more elaborate and better detailed if anyone's interested. It would have to be a different beast than Fractured though, and less of a handful to write for 😅]

4 - Hans is brought back and is still portrayed as a villain, but is given the proper time for his character to be explored and given depth. He also gets an actual villain song. He plots to take vengeance on those who wronged him, but instead of being portrayed as the cunning snake he was in F1, it's more a drive out of desperation and anger. He ends up doing things he would not normally do, horrible things that do weigh on his mind but he pushes on because he sees no other way to claim his happiness; that since barely anyone cared for him when he was younger, that he learned to only care for himself. He's given moments to stop what he's doing and not escalate things further, and despite pausing, he still chooses the worst option. In the end he becomes his own worst enemy, and accidentally dies by his own hand. His defeat is not something that brings either Elsa or Anna joy despite how much he's wronged them and how justified they'd be feel some relief, his family is affected by it, and so the ending of the movie is bittersweet. [let me start off by saying that there is no way in hell Disney would have the cajones to do something this depressing, but man I would kind of love it if they did. One thing I do love about the idea of bringing Hans back and keeping him a villain is turning him into a Shakesperean tragedy, and his quest to claim his happiness by any means unnecessary would be so compelling to watch imo. Sort of similar to Lord Shen from Kung Fu Panda 2 in that regard. You could still have another villain in this, either one with powers - seriously, introduce another elemental user in Frozen 3, Disney, pretty pls - or one/some of his family members that are up to their own nefarious plots]

And that's it! Let me know which plot idea sounds good to you or if a combination of certain elements from all these would be more preferable in your opinion for his hypothetical return. 👍

#frozen #frozen 3 #prince hans #hans westergaard #princess anna #kristoff #frozen olaf #the southern isles #just me rambling about how fascinating I find this character and how great he could be if given the opportunity #hans nation rise up

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imminent-danger-came · 1 year ago

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Are there any clear parallels between Mei and Macaque other than they are/were the 'hero‘s closest friend'?

Like- MK and Wukong have similar storybeats and personality traits.

Same with Mei and Wukong.

(Even Azure and Mei have parallels. Containers for power. Azure‘s sword inspired her to make her own. There was a scene where they had the same battle ready pose. Azure‘s goal was to use the power of the emperor for something good, Mei thinks that power should be used for good whenever possible. Azure‘s first priority was trying to reunite the brotherhood, friends/family are very important to him too. Both willing to make sacrifices -like Wukong- to save the world, though Azure‘s method was admittedly less permanent than outright killing him.)

But other than the "Ugh, this guy." Facepalm Mei and Macaque did (at Ao Lie and Monkey King) in season 4, nothing springs to mind for me for this particular pair.

Macaque is cautious, Mei is the polar opposite of that. Macaque acts out of his own interest for the most part, for Mei, her friends (and the world) are priority.

Even looking at younger Macaque, from what little we‘ve seen, he was bit of a grouch, grumbling and half heartedly rolling his eyes at Wukong‘s antics. Whereas Mei is right there alongside MK being silly and goofing off.

(I‘m sorry for dragging the Warrior/Hero stuff back to the table, but with how often Mei is labeled as the Warrior in the fandom I would have thought there‘d be more. So I was wondering if I am just not very observant 😅)

First of all: never apologize for bringing up the Hero and the Warrior motif! I'd also like to thank you for your other thoughts, Azure and Mei parallels are always delicious.

Second of all: to quote my own Hero and Warrior meta, (mainly because I'm too lazy to rewrite anything):

"We know that the Warrior is someone who follows the hero, someone who is the moon to the Hero’s sun, someone who loves and looks up to the Hero. In this sense, the role of the Warrior is completely defined by the role of the Hero. [...] During the night, the Warrior is the moon that brings light to the world in the sun’s absence."

So, in regards to Mei being a Warrior to MK's Hero, I'd say she fits the bill pretty perfectly! "Together, there was nothing that could stop the two of them", and together MK and Mei are always going to be able to "figure it out". Even when MK isn't there or they're separated (particularly in 4x10), Mei and the gang are still going to step in and try and help (or be that light when the hero is absent).

Moving on: Mei and Macaque parallels.

I think the way Mei is treated by MK in s1-3 is reminiscent of both how Wukong treats MK during s2 and how Wukong treated Macaque in the past. MK ignores Mei—often letting his own reach for power affect his relationship with her, especially in episodes 1x06, 2x03, 2x06, and 3x03 (and honestly even 2x02). I'll just put shit MK does to Mei over Macaque dialogue lol:

Macaque: "Still the same Wukong—doing whatever he wants with no regard for others!" (3x14 Destiny Fulfilled)

Macaque: "Look Wukong, I get you're excited, I do! But- crossing the Jade Emperor's going to have consequences—aaannnd you're not even listening." (4x02 New Adventures) (Thank you 2x03 for stating that MK doesn't listen outright. We owe you a lot.)

Macaque: "Wukong didn't think so—he always felt he had to be stronger, more immortal." (4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

Hopefully that demonstrates my point!

I'm also banking on whatever went down between Wukong and Macaque paralleling 3x10 (Ending with SWK choosing to leave Macaque while MK refused to leave Mei), but we'll have to see!

Ultimately however, I'd say that rather than parallels, Mei and Macaque are foils. They have some similarities, but there are also a lot of key differences between these two characters. Like anon mentioned, Macaque is cautious while Mei is foolhardy, Macaque looks out for himself while Mei works to protect others, Macaque prefers to watch and wait while Mei believes in taking action, Macaque turned against Wukong when Mei could never turn against MK.

But, in that same vein, I think they're in the process of becoming more like each other. Mei is learning to slow down and focus, to "harness the wild energies and emotions burning within" her—essentially to be more cautious. Macaque on the other hand is learning how to be a team player, and is starting to put himself on the line for other people:

While MK and Wukong have always been pretty similar/have made similar mistakes, it's interesting to watch their counterparts slowly become more like one another, but instead with their virtues.

Speaking of, Macaque's 2x07 line-

"As time went on, the hero obtained power beyond comprehension. As the hero’s light grew, so too did his shadow—and soon, the Warrior was cast into that shadow."

-has uh, started to worry me, mainly because I'd say that now, post-s4 MK has quite literally obtained power beyond comprehension:

And while 3x10 will always be important because of MK's choice to stay by Mei, I wonder if we're due for another ultimatum where MK doesn't make that right choice (*cough cough* he leaves in 4x08 mainly because he's afraid of hurting the people he cares about—something that is going to come back later *cough cough*). Or perhaps it's a role reversal, where Mei and the Gang have to decide whether or not to "abandon" MK (aka destroy the "harbinger of chaos", al la 3x04 Macaque Flashback).

#or maybe a little of both #I will say there is HMMM some SPICE to like #Macaque leaving SWK (under the mountain) and then Mei not leaving MK #which oh god dammit it's samadhi fire part 3 again #lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk Mei #lmk MK #lmk Macaque #iris quartet #the warriors #samadhi fire part 3 #asks

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